Mtn. View band students welcome new Japanese friends

It’s said that music is a universal language, which is why more than 40 Japanese students have hit the High Desert to connect with Mountain View High School band members.

Through the Rotary Oregon-Japan Exchange program, 43 students from the Kogane Band in Japan are teaming with the Cougars band in the 20th such gathering dating back to 1996.

The Kogane students met their host families for the first time and embarked on their American journey Tuesday night.

Separated by almost 5,000 miles, music helps bridge the gap between the students of the two high schools.

“Making friends, you know, definitely getting to know them better, and possibly learning a thing or two about the culture,” said Mountain View senior Daniel Castro.

Brian Seed was one of the original founders of the Oregon-Japan Exchange program, and said he always looks forward to this time of year.

“They can use music as a springboard for friendship with people that may not speak the same verbal language that they do,” Seed said.

The annual week-long exchange program is popular with the students, which is why the program has grown from just 18 students nearly 20 years ago to the 43 here this week.

“The schools feed off each other,” Seed said. “The students get into it, they do it, and they tell their friends — and it just explodes.”

Castro said he even reached out to the students he’s hosting and had already chatted with them via email.

“Honestly it’s like, I don’t know, you know it’s one thing to just talk about, but actually doing it is a whole different story,” Castro said.

By the end of the week, Seed said, the students will have more in common than their love for music.

“There are literally students that did this 15 to 20 years ago that still correspond with the friends they made in this program while they were in high school,” Seed said.

Now the students will have a jam-packed week of rehearsing for their big concert Saturday night at the high school. This year was the Kogane Band’s chance to come to Bend, and next year a group of Mountain View students will get the opportunity to travel to Japan.